It all started with a simple question. ‘What is a micro-manager?’ asked my almost 8 year old. ‘And why does Daddy always call you that?’ she innocently added.
We all laughed. But afterwards, I began to question how much control and management is needed to efficiently coordinate the family, work and everything in between. What is the meaning of control? And what’s on the other side of control? A lack of psychological freedom?
my visit to Claire Shutes’ couch
It was then that I remembered a great friend telling me about Claire Shutes and I thought that this would be a perfect time to sit on her couch and look for some ‘control’ answers.
Having previously been an observational documentary maker, Claire is pretty curious about people and attitudes, and this is evident from the moment she greets you at her door. She is trained as a life coach, has written and delivered courses in businesses and schools but is so much more. Interested in state of mind and the nature of thought, she particularly focuses on this when ‘working’ with her clients.
Probably none of this sounds out of the ordinary for anyone who has done any sort of psychological probing.
Claire Shutes is anything other than ordinary
Except that Claire is out of the ordinary. Her manner is approachable yet intuitive. While I answered her questions, I found her to be sensitive in her approach and insightful in her responses. Drilling down in a limited time frame, we discussed rules and boundaries, rather than hard-core control, in an inquisitive and non-accusing fashion.
We concluded that because I want my world to be good, I try to control it. She recognised that any decision-making I do, is actually my way of releasing myself from the mundane to-do list and aims to allow me to create time for myself (to write, read, be). I left understanding a little more about myself, all skilfully facilitated by Claire.
Living with the challenges of cerebral palsy, Claire and I agreed that life experience heavily influences our state of mind and how we function as human beings. I suppose Claire, in a nutshell, enables her clients to see the world in a different way.
If you are too are looking for answers or just some degree of clarity, I’d recommend a visit to Claire Shutes.
Claire Shutes +44 7904066344 cs@potentcoaching.com
*The Killers’ song Human reminds us of all we have to go through and learn to be the person we are today. Listen here.
